Monday, March 19, 2012

Bus Newspaper Reading

"Rave is still being understood
as monopolized by mental illness, while it is the human language that created
its raving, and raving would not be possible without a linguistic incubator, an
incubator that can make raving another kind parallel to speech, or a little
behind speech, or a little in front of it in its well-made beautiful
majority." That was how today's Khudair Mery's article started today in Al-Sabah newspaper.

He continues after few lines that I
found myself unable to translate: "… and perhaps it was Jacques Derrida
who deconstructed, for the first time, the concept of writing and referring to
writing as a trial to be centered around the logos."

What is more amazing in today's
article is Mery's trial to elaborate on the concept of writing for us, the
Arabs, and why we find difficulty in understanding Jacques Derrida's view about
writing.

I don't claim that I understand
Derrida. I must declare here that I didn't read anything before about Derrida
in spite of one of my friend's insisting on this issue.

Mery states the quote of Gilles
Deleuze about the difference between the Eastern wise-man who thinks by images
in a side, and the Western philosopher who thinks in concepts.

I don't claim that I understood that,
but I can assure that this saying was imprinted well in my memory for further
evaluation.

Towards the end of the article Mery
mentioned one of Roland Barthes quotes: "Writing
is that neutral, composite, oblique space where our subject slips
away, the negative where all identity is lost, starting with the very identity
of the body writing."

Khudair Mery's last two articles are exciting and encouraging to read
more and more. To open a new window. To share my friend, who likes philosophy,
some views. To open conversations with some friends. Thank you Khudair Mery and
thanks to Al-Sabah.

Mohamad
Ghazi Al-Akhras wrote today in Al-Sabah.
He wrote today about a conversation with a taxi man in Baghdad about the taxi
man's brother visit to a psychiatrist and about that psychiatrist strange
prescription: "Music, hear tranquilizing music!"

Mohamad
Al-Akhras compared between the music that is composed by Arab Iraqis Vs. music
composed by Kurdish Iraqis. The former is sad, the latter is happy and dancing.

Newroz is
approaching and is usually celebrated in Kurdistan vigorously. Al-Sabah showed
a picture of Kurish females dancing.

Another
picture was from Afghanistan showing a man in traditional clothes standing in
front of a poster of Marylyn Monroe.

The
20th episode of "Known and Unknow: A Memoir" by Donald Rumsfeld was talking
about the arrival of Paul Bremer to Baghdad. I could not read more than 4 or 5
lines then shifted to Al-Mada which talks about the history of the 100%
Iraqi-made clock in Al-A'athameya.